THREE TIBETAN MONKS have reportedly set themselves alight in an apparent protest against ongoing Chinese rule over the region.
The London-based group Free Tibet says that one of the men died from his injuries, while the other two are understood to have survived.
The three men set fire to themselves on Friday morning in the Sichuan province.
US-funded Radio Free Asia reports that the two survivors, aged 30 and 60, are seriously injured and that communications have been shut down in the area after a number of violent clashes last week between Tibetans and Chinese security forces.
When the country government office was contacted by the Associated Press this morning, an employee denied the self-immolation reports, saying “no such thing happened”. A man at the Ganzi prefecture public security office said he had not heard of the incident, and police could not be reached for comment.
If the latest reports are confirmed, this incident would bring to 19 the number of nuns, monks and lay Tibetans who have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule and call for the return of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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